Welcome to the Sunderland Children's Trust website
What is the Sunderland Children's Trust?
Background to Children's Trust Arrangements
The Laming Report ( 315kb) identified a number of weaknesses in Children’s Services in some areas. The most significant for the future shape of services were
Lack of accountability
Poor co-ordination of service provision across agencies
Failure to share information
Weak management of services
Lack of training
The Green Paper Every Child Matters (ECM) ( 743kb) set out the Government’s vision for children’s services, including a number of measures to address the above issues. This Vision is based on the development of national and local arrangements where there is
Clear accountability for services
Integration of key services around the needs of children, in particular, education, social care, health, youth justice and Connexions.
The Government’s preferred model for achieving service integration is a Children’s Trust, which will commission services and may provide them directly or contract with public, private or voluntary sector organisations.
The Children’s Trust is a set of arrangements through which partner organisations will work together to improve the well being of children and young people. It aims to achieve better outcomes through joint planning and commissioning and more integrated service delivery. The Sunderland vision for the Children’s Trust is
“Working together to improve life chances and aspirations for each child and young person in Sunderland”
This means:
The Trust will set priorities, provide clear leadership and accountability working towards improved outcomes for ALL children and young people in Sunderland through strong partnerships
Key services will be integrated around the needs of children not the organisation
The Trust will provide universal services resulting in well children and young people, whose needs are met by families, supported where necessary by services provided in their local community
Children and families will be involved in the planning of services
Vulnerable children and young people will receive additional support from targeted services, delivered through mainstream settings where possible
Children will have access to specialist services
Key Features of our Children’s Trust
Sunderland Children's Trust will be concerned with achieving key outcomes through the integrated planning and delivery of services for all children and young people. It will have the following core features
Short and long-term objectives linked to the 5 ECM outcome areas for children and young people, i.e. staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and economic well-being
A Director of Children’s Services
A single planning and commissioning function supported by pooled budgets
A lead council member for children, to strengthen accountability at local political level
Shared processes and practices including information sharing and assessment and identification of a lead professional
A joint approach to workforce development
Benefits of a Children's Trust
The integration of services through the Children's Trust will impact in two ways:
Improved outcomes for children and young people
Improvement in the quality and effectiveness of services, in relation to service user experience and organisational effectiveness
Delivering the vision
Sunderland Children's Trust will have the following features:
A joint Children’s Board which will be the overarching strategic body and which will determine priorities and provide leadership and accountability for improved outcomes for children
A joint commissioning body, which will be responsible for implementing the actions required to deliver the best outcomes for children in Sunderland
Integration at other levels achieved through joint processes and partnership agreements, supported by pooling of resources and funding where this would support the achievement of better outcomes
Strong partnerships with a network of key stakeholders, including the voluntary and community sector
All services previously provided by Education and Social Services for children within the Council will be part of the new arrangements, under the single Children's Services Directorate
Joint Commissioning in areas agreed as priorities by the Children’s Trust, i.e. joint processes for assessing need, planning how to use the resources, arranging service delivery (which could be through direct provision or contracting with other bodies) and reviewing service and reassessing need
Integrated processes and practices to support service delivery, including integrated care pathways and common assessment
Integrated services delivered through multi-agency and multi-disciplinary teams at local level, where there is evidence that integration at this level would lead to better outcomes
Shared information systems and protocols, to support both strategic planning and individual care planning
A joint workforce planning and development strategy which places value on different professional skills whilst breaking down professional barriers by building a common sense of purpose based on improving outcomes for children
The development of common competencies for all staff who work with children
Mechanisms for involving children and young people, families and communities in improving outcomes, and for empowering families to meet the needs of children and young people
A joint performance framework and shared standards for services
General principles
The following general principles will underpin the work of the Children's Trust
The focus will be on early identification of need, early intervention and prevention, with early clarity in individual situations about the need for targeted services
Families will be empowered to meet the needs of children and young people, supported where necessary by services provided in their local community
Services will be designed to meet the needs of children and not organisational needs, and service delivery will be based on assessment of individual need
Children and families will be involved in the planning of services.
Change will be based on an understanding of what works and will build on evidence gained from evaluation of local models of good practice in partnership working
Priority will be given to developing strong mainstream services that are capable of meeting a wide range of need, e.g. Children’s Centres, Extended Schools
Services will be accessible and non-stigmatising and targeted services will be delivered through mainstream settings where possible
There will be a balance between mainstream (universal), targeted and specialist services, and protocols in place for managing necessary transition between different tiers of services as seamlessly as possible
Partners in the Children's Trust
It is recognised that good outcomes for all children and young people will only be achieved when agencies work together and are prepared to cut across established professional and organisational boundaries to plan and deliver integrated services around the needs of children and their families. The following are key partners in the Children’s Trust:
Sunderland City Council
Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust
City Hospitals Sunderland
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust
North East Strategic Health Authority
Northumbria Probation
Northumbria Police
Youth Offending Service
Tyne and Wear Fire & Rescue Service
Schools
City of Sunderland College
University of Sunderland
Learning and Skills Council
Youth Parliament and Schools Councils
GPs
Dentists
Gentoo
The Voluntary and Community Sector
There are also other organisations and professionals whose services contribute to children’s well being.
Parenting Programme Directory
Do you work closely with parents/carers living in Sunderland? The Sunderland Parenting Programme Directory provides information about the parenting programmes currently running in the city and the referral pathways into them. The Directory also contains contact details for many of the public and voluntary sector agencies that currently offer services to parents. The Directory can be downloaded here ( 93kb).
Sunderland is a Beacon authority for Reducing Re-offending (2008 - 2009)
In March 2008 Sunderland City Council and it's partners was announced as a Beacon Authority for Reducing Re-offending - one of the highest accolade of award schemes. As a Beacon authority for Reducing Re-offending we are committed to sharing our practice and learning with others working in the field of reducing re-offending. We will do this by hosting local and national events, publishing case studies of innovation and working on specific issues with local authorities and/or partners who feel they can learn from our experiences. You can find out more about what we are doing to reduce re-offending by children and young people by visiting the Sunderland Youth Offending Service website. You can find out more about the Beacon Scheme and what we are doing as a Beacon authority by visiting the Reducing Re-offending Theme page on the Beacon website. View the Beacon Reducing Re-offending Theme Guide here ( 935kb), which gives an overview of the Sunderland Beacon.
Family and Parenting Strategy 2008-2012
Following wide consultation, Sunderland’s multi-agency Parenting Board has produced the Family and Parenting Strategy 2008-2012 ( 473kb) . Its purpose is to support parents, carers, young people and children to deliver the very best outcomes for them, whatever their needs.
Parenting Support will be offered in three ways or ‘levels’ depending on parents’ or carers’ needs:
Good quality universal support, in the form of information, advice and signposting to other services;
More specialised targeted support at a local level to meet the needs of families and communities facing additional difficulties, for example structured parenting groups, home visiting and employment or training advice; and
Specialist support for parents who are experiencing significant challenges or problems in their parenting role. This will include parents of children with additional needs having access to specialist services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, services for children with disabilities and more intensive children’s social care interventions.
The Family and Parenting Strategy is a living document that will evolve in line with parents’ needs and the changing service development needs within the City. It will be driven by the Children’s Trust and Local Strategic Partnership members.
A copy for Parents is currently being produced and will be available shortly. Please contact Judith Hay, Parenting Commissioner, Head of Positive Contribution and Economic Well-being, on Tel: 0191 561 1972.
Private Fostering
What is private fostering?
Private fostering applies when a child under 16 (under 18 if disabled) is cared for and provided with accommodation by someone other than a parent, or person with parental responsibility, the local authority or a relative, and the period of care is intended to last for more than 28 days.
The Children Act 1989 (Sec 105) defines a relative as a grandparent, brother or sister, uncle or aunt (full or half blood) and stepparent.
What are parents/ carers and private foster carers required to do?
A person who is intending to foster a child by private arrangement is required to notify the Children’s Services directorate not less than 6 weeks and not more than 13 weeks before they receive the child. The responsibility for notification also applies to the parent/person with parental responsibility. Any person receiving a child in an emergency or already caring for the child must notify the directorate no later than 48 hours after the arrangement begins.
If the child moves, the former private foster carer must notify the Children’s Services directorate in writing within 48 hours stating the name and address of the person to whom the child has moved. This responsibility also applies to the parent/person with parental responsibility.
If parents or carers have been unaware of what they should do and have a child/young person who is privately fostered, they must now contact the Local Authority to advise them of the arrangement.
What are other professionals who are aware of private fostering arrangements required to do?
Teachers, health staff and other professionals should notify the Children’s Services directorate in the local authority of a private fostering arrangement that comes to their attention. Contact details are below.
What is the local authority required to do?
Where the child is living outside of the family (as defined in s.105 CA1989) then this will constitute Private Fostering and there is a responsibility (under Sec 66 -71 CA1989) on the local authority to assess, register, monitor and support where necessary.
The Local Authority also has responsibilities under the following:
Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005
Replacement Children Act Guidance on Private Fostering
The local authority has a responsibility to increase public awareness about Private Fostering. An information leaflet is available to download ( 94kb).
Following receipt of notification about a private fostering arrangement, the Children’s Services directorate must be satisfied about the proposed arrangements, including duration of the arrangement, the wishes and feelings of the child, the suitability of the proposed accommodation, the suitability of the proposed private foster carer and other members of their household, that arrangements for contact with parents are agreed and are satisfactory, satisfactory financial arrangements have been made, arrangements for the child to receive medical and dental care are made, the child’s education has been arranged, and agreement is in place over what aspects of care will be delegated to the private foster carer.
What happens next?
A Social Worker will make an initial visit to the private foster carer and the child within the first week of the placement. An assessment of the private foster carer’s ability to meet the child’s needs will be completed within 6 weeks of the initial visit. When the assessment is complete it will be considered by the appropriate team manager and service manager for approval. Visits by a social worker must be made at 6 weekly intervals (or more frequently) in the first year. Thereafter visiting is at 3 monthly intervals. All Private Fostering arrangements will be reviewed regularly.
A register of Private Fostering arrangements will be maintained by the Children’s Services directorate.
Certain people are disqualified from private fostering for example someone who has been convicted of an offence involving a child or has had a child removed from them.
Who to contact for more information:
Children’s Services
Cassaton House
Sunderland
SR1 1RR
Tel: 0191 520 5555
315kb) identified a number of weaknesses in Children’s Services in some areas. The most significant for the future shape of services were